If you'd prefer to watch this on YouTube, click here.
Creating high quality content for your website or blog takes a lot of work.
But it's only half the battle.
In addition to researching, writing and editing (then more editing and more editing!), your content also has to LOOK GOOD and be visually appealing because presentation matters.
So here are 8 simple ways for making your blog post more attractive:
1. Display a confident headline.
Your headline is responsible for getting your reader's attention — then hopefully enticing them to read your blog post.
Your headline is the most important part of any blog post, so you'll want it to stand out and display prominently on the page.
The headline font you use doesn't really matter. You can use whatever you want.
Just make sure your headline is big and bold and easy to read and visually communicates confidence and authority. If you believe in what you write and you know your content is good, you want your headline to visually convey that to the reader.
2. Add a high quality feature image.
You want to add a dash of eye candy at the top of your blog post to infuse a little energy onto the page, instead of just presenting your reader with words in black and white. Yawn.
The best feature images also support and amplify your headline, and set the tone of your blog post.
If you're able to find an image that evokes a little emotion or curiosity, even better.
Taking the time to find a feature image that is both aesthetically pleasing, but one that also augments your headline can really boost the curb appeal of your blog post.
3. Use no-nonsense body copy.
You want the text of your blog post to be legible and easy to consume.
The body copy is the meat and potatoes of your blog post, so don't make your readers strain to read your words.
In my experience, illegible body copy is the # 1 visual mistake I see on blog posts.
Sure, there's a time and a place to be artsy-fartsy, but this ain't one of 'em.
If your blog post's page background is white, (which most are) use a crisp, dark font that is sufficiently large and easy to read.
I normally use an 18-20 point font size on my blog posts, which is big enough where most people won't need their reader glasses, but not so big that it looks like they're reading a children's book.
Regarding what font family to use for your body copy, there's really no right or wrong answer. It's mainly a matter of personal preference.
If you want to see what fonts are popular and trending, just go to fonts.google.com and you can type in sample text to see what a certain font style might look like. Google fonts are used on over 50 million websites worldwide. I use Google fonts on my site as well as all the sites I built for clients.
4. Use subheadings (aka sub-headlines).
Readers these days are scanners and sub-headlines allow your readers to quickly see the various sections of your blog post and what topics you'll be covering.
Sub-headlines let readers know your material is organized into bite-sized sections instead of one long wall of words.
Sub-headlines also give readers a heads-up that you're about to shift gears and move on to the next topic.
For continuity throughout my blog post, I like to use the same font style for my sub-headlines as I do for my main headline. The only thing I change is I make the size of my sub-headline about 20-30% smaller than my main headline at the top of the page.
5. Eliminate scary paragraphs.
I try to limit the length of my paragraphs to 1-2 sentences — 3 sentences tops.
You don't want your reader feeling like the reading a lease agreement!
When readers see large paragraphs, they subconsciously perceive it's going to require a lot of mental bandwidth to process that data, which means there's a good chance they're going to stop reading and bail.
So keep your paragraphs short and concise, which helps your reader digest your blog post with the least amount of mental effort.
6. Eliminate junk and clutter.
I don't know about you, but a lot of blog posts I read feel like this:
There's just stuff all over in the page and the chaos gives me anxiety and makes me want to click away and go somewhere else.
I understand we're all trying to monetize our work with ads, or we're asking readers to opt in for our lead magnet. I get that. But I also think you can overdo it, which then detracts from your content that you worked so hard to produce.
Sometimes less is more.
7. Use lists.
Nearly every blog post I publish includes one or more lists.
Lists allow you to change things up and give your readers a chance to consume your content in a different format instead of just paragraph after paragraph after paragraph.
Lists also subconsciously communicate to your reader, "Hey, pay attention to this." because we've all been conditioned that lists usually contain a distillation of the juicy and important stuff.
Traditionally, list items use little round bullet points, which are perfectly fine. But many webpage builders these days (like Thrive Architect, which is what I use) allow you to jazz up your list and use custom icons for your list items.
Obviously, you do not have to do this. But using custom icons is like giving a little wink or nod to your reader that you took the extra step to make their reading experience special, kind of like an upscale hotel leaving chocolate on your pillow.
8. Use inline images.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
So, sometimes a well-placed image in the body of your blog post can really help tell your story.
A well-placed image in your blog post can also serve as a visual palette cleanse by giving your reader a quick break from just purely words.
The one exception where it's okay to use a lot of inline images is if your blog post is a step-by-step tutorial.
In my blog post, How To Receive An SMS Text Alert When A Form Is Submitted On Your Website, I include a lot of images because the topic is highly technical and sometimes it's just easier to show your reader what you're talking about instead of trying to write it all out longhand.
Conclusion
So that's it. You now have 8 simple ways to make your blog posts more attractive. Because like it or not, people DO judge a book by its cover and the appearance of your blog post matters.
